Foreign liaison of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
constitutes an important component of the country's diplomacy. In
the last three decades it has opened new vistas, accumulated rich
experiences and has had wide influence.
The accomplishments have been in four major areas.
First, the Party's foreign liaison practice has provided brand
new principles in handling its relations with political parities in
other countries.
Independence, equality, mutual respect and non-interference in
each other's internal affairs are the four principles initiated by
the CPC in handling relations with political parties in other
countries. These principles are gaining increasing acceptance by
more and more political parties across the world.
Independence means that each party should formulate its own
platform, political line and policies according to the particular
conditions of the country choose its own road of development and
define its positions on international issues.
Equality means all political parties in different countries are
equal, no matter how big or small, old or young, and whether they
are in power or not. Not a single party is privileged to place
itself above the others.
Mutual respect means all parties should understand, respect and
learn from one another. Different situations in which political
parties find themselves and their experiences, determine sometimes
they cannot be in agreement with each other on all issues. The
differences and disputes should never be allowed to stand in the
way of development of inter-party relations. Seeking common ground
and leaving aside differences offers a way out.
Non-interference in each other's internal affairs means that not
only a political party in a country should never interfere in the
internal affairs of a party in another nation but it should not
interfere in the internal affairs of that country via inter-party
relations as well. In addition, any two political parties should
not do harm to the third party by means of bilateral inter-party
relations.
These four principles in handling inter-party relations and the
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in handling state-to-state
relations compliment each other.
Second, the Party's foreign liaison has helped bring down the
traditional obstacles to inter-party intercourse.
Ideological disputes sometimes lead to the worsening of party
relations, or worse, deterioration of state-to-state relations.
Painful lessons abound in history. The phenomenon of using
ideological differences to interfere in another country's internal
affairs, however, still exists in the world.
The four principles in handling inter-party relations are good
in that they exclude ideological factors from the relations. The
CPC is able to have friendly ties with political parties,
organizations and dignitaries in many countries because all sides
go beyond the ideological differences and seek mutual understanding
and cooperation.
Ideological differences stem from civilization's diversity. And
this diversity determines the nature of political parties in
different countries. The CPC holds that civilization's diversity is
one of the basic features of human society and also a driving power
behind the progress of the civilization of humanity. As a result,
each civilization and nation deserves each other's respect.
The CPC's advocacy of going beyond ideological differences is
widely echoed by political parties in other countries. A
traditional obstacle to inter-party intercourse has, therefore,
been torn down.
Facts testify to this. The CPC now has relations in various
forms with more than 400 political parties from 160 countries and
regions in the world. Relations are progressing in depth and
exchanges are in a rich variety of forms.
Third, the Party's liaison has brought about a new political
order in inter-party relations.
The establishment of a new world political and economic order is
an urgent task dictated by the theme of our times - peace and
development. After the end of World War II, the old international
political order was marked by hegemony politics running wild, the
bullying of the weak, the big riding roughshod over the small, the
rich oppressing the poor. It was the CPC that first put forward the
initiative of bringing about a new international political order
characterized by independence, equality, justice, mutual benefit
and common prosperity, on the basis of the Five Principles of
Peaceful Coexistence.
The new order requires that all countries are equal members of
the international community, irrespective of their size, wealth and
physical power. They should, therefore, respect each other, and
keep consul with one another. No country is supposed to impose its
will upon others. This kind of international democratization should
be reflected in inter-party relations.
However, the reality now is that the establishment of the new
international political order is on a bumpy road. In this context,
the CPC is blazing new trails to achieve its success.
Fourth, the CPC's liaison enhances the standing of political
parties in overall international relations.
The CPC believes that inter-party intercourse is an important
part of a country's diplomacy. With the progress of multilateralism
and economic globalization, the liaison, exchanges and cooperation
between countries of the world are getting increasingly intensive.
In this regard, more and more people have come to realize that
inter-party relations effectively serve their country's diplomacy
and economic growth.
The CPC is developing relations with all kinds of political
parties in the world. Dealing with the party in power of a foreign
country facilitates state-to-state relations. Dealing with parties
not in power is also beneficial to the people of both countries.
Making friends with up-and-coming politicians helps lay a
foundation for future cooperation.
Apart from political affairs, the Party is also pushing for
cooperation and exchanges in the fields of economics, science and
technology.
?(China Daily October 15, 2007)